Regional office publication

Fifty-three percent of children in Myanmar are expected to live below the national poverty line by 2022, meaning an additional four million children will live below the poverty line compared to 2017. The child poverty rate in the country was higher compared to the overall poverty rate, and children living in households headed by women, large households, households with a disabled member, and rural households are more likely to be living in poverty.

This two-step analysis report of the UNDP and UNICE fills in the gap in Myanmar’s development research by studying the effect of two shocks – the COVID-19 pandemic and the military takeover – on child monetary poverty in 2022, aiming to model and stimulate how social protection measures can mitigate the rising poverty rates in the country, particularly among children. The study underscores the importance of household income as the leading determinant of child well-being in terms of health, nutrition, and education.